Marco Rubio at the Vatican: the Pope won his battle against Trump

In the columns of the liberal daily The Sheet, Matteo Matzuzzi, Vaticanist for the newspaper, seems to be enjoying a victory. “This pope may be ‘catastrophic’ in foreign policy […] as Trump says, three weeks after their argument, the latter still sent Marco Rubio to Rome to renew relations. This clearly indicates who won the battle.â€

This already seems very far away given the pace of the American president’s declarations, but on April 12 Donald Trump shocked the planet by directly attacking the sovereign pontiff on his Truth social network. He accused Leo XIV of being “lax on crime and lax on nuclear weapons†, and invited him to “stop contenting the radical left†and à chercher floats à “be a great pope, not a politician†. Enough to lastingly strain relations between the Vatican and Washington.

Obviously, the announcement, which occurred on May 3, of a meeting between Marco Rubio and Robert Prevost at the Holy See on Thursday, May 7, is therefore interpreted as an American attempt at appeasement. Even a necessary action so as not to alienate the Catholic electorate across the Atlantic. Indeed, says the Milanese daily, since the clash between Trump and Leo XIV, “the pope’s popularity among American Catholics is growing, while that of Trump is declining…

In this context, Trump did not choose his emissary at random. Marco Rubio had already met the Pope last year and he has been a lifelong Catholic – unlike the vice-president, JD Vance, who converted. “Rubio enjoys a certain respect in the Vatican, arguments le media roman Tomorrow, where he is seen as more predictable and therefore more trustworthy than Vance.â€

The “Cuban question” on the table?

However, the left-wing daily then analyzes that the positions in international politics of the Secretary of State and the Pope are far from being the same. “Rubio is a ‘hawk,’ in favor of American involvement in world affairs, and he is also among the politicians who most encouraged the war in Iran,†notes the Roman journal on this subject. By the very essence of his role, Leo XIV obviously takes more pacifist positions, and, beyond the conflict in Iran, these two lines risk soon colliding on another issue: that of Cuba, which Trump is threatening more and more openly.

“The island where Rubio’s family is from has been a political target for generations for some Republican politicians […]. And this adventure promised by Trump excites the Secretary of State more than anything, advance Tomorrow. Problem: the Cuban file is also at the top of Léon’s list of priorities, but for the opposite reasons, note The Sheet. “The Holy See is very active on the Cuban question, and its mediation is proving effective, as demonstrated by the release of 51 prisoners recently announced by Havana†, indicates the Milanese media. The liberal newspaper recalls that this gesture was presented by the Cuban government as a signal of “good will†vis-à-vis the Vatican, the Holy See playing a sort of role of mediator between Havana and Washington.

With this in mind, plans The Sheet, “Leo XIV, who is a pragmatist, will try to build bridges with Rubio, rather than walls. Because, for him, it is better to seek what can unite while leaving aside what divides.â€